In a post about evolution and culture, Steven Den Beste writes "Darwinian evolution by natural selection is inelegant, inefficient, very cruel and wasteful and, it turns out, true."
I have to disagree. Inelegant it is not. Let's remember Darwin's last words of Origin of Species: "There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one ; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved."
NON-RELATED TRIVIA QUESTION: Charles Darwin was born on February 12, 1809. Name another person who was also born on 2/12/1809.
Comments (4)
LINCOLN
Posted by Carol Herman | July 31, 2003 5:44 PM
Posted on July 31, 2003 17:44
I agree with your point on the result of Darwin's Natural Selection. I also agree with Den Beste, because his comments and use of the word "inelegant" refer to the process of evolution.
And, Carol is correct: Abe Lincoln - also, born the same year Thomas Jefferson died.
Posted by Doug Purdie | August 1, 2003 4:15 PM
Posted on August 1, 2003 16:15
> And, Carol is correct: Abe Lincoln -
> also, born the same year Thomas
> Jefferson died.
??
Jefferson died on July 4, 1826... the same day John Adams died and the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Posted by Partha Mazumdar | August 3, 2003 12:48 AM
Posted on August 3, 2003 00:48
For what it's worth Washington's 'actual' date of birth was, I think, the 12th of February.
But England hadn't adopted the calendar used in the rest of Europe. (Because the change took place under the Pope's decree. And, England was reacting to the Pope's Catholic dictums), even on this singular occasion where things made sense.
Since I'm working from memory, and by definition, it's going to mixup stuff; the best I remember is that the Gregorian Calendar fell out of whack. (No adjustments for daylight savings?) But when you're getting weather shifts, while the calendar depended on planting and harvesting ... 'something' came along that shifted the calendar by about 3 weeks.
It is in this 'adjustment' that Washington's birthday got moved to February 22nd.
Shoot me if I'm wrong. I just know it took time for England to align itself with the globe's turning. (Which is what the calendar is supposed to be about.)
Go figure you can turn in circles and still be off your dates.
Please help me out here and give the correct details. But, if we're not talking about the year (1809), just the date of February 12th, history may say Washington thought that was the day to celebrate his birthday when he was alive?
Who remembers what year England lost three weeks?
Posted by Carol Herman | August 4, 2003 1:50 AM
Posted on August 4, 2003 01:50